The ‘geography' of the hierogrammateis: the religious topography of the Western Harpoon (7th Nome of Lower Egypt)

The region corresponding to the Western Harpoon province (7th nome of Lower Egypt) lacks systematic archaeological exploration – including surveys – and an in-depth study; most of the available documentation related to this province comes from the so-called ‘cult topographical manuals’, mainly dated to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The hierogrammateis were in charge of sketching mythological and religious geographies, playing a key role in the formation, development and ‘administration’ of the conceptual space inside the imaginary of the ancient Egyptian society. This paper aims at mapping all the topographical elements, cities, multiple canals, rural territories, and marshlands, which constituted the religious topographical map of the Western Harpoon as imagined by the hierogrammateis.